Men's Basketball Earns 80-77 Overtime Win At Saginaw Valley

OVERVIEW – SAGINAW VALLEY STATE

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 80, Saginaw Valley State Cardinals 77 (OT)
RECORDS: Northwood (8-11, 5-6 GLIAC), Saginaw Valley (7-12, 3-8 GLIAC)
LOCATION: O'Neil Arena – University Center, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood rallies from an eight-point halftime deficit to earn an 80-77 overtime road win over rival Saginaw Valley Saturday afternoon (January 26).

FIRST HALF

• In a game full of runs, Northwood got off to a fast start, scoring the first nine points of the game.
• SVSU responded in a big way and was the better team the remainder of the half. The Cardinals out-scored Northwood 35-18 the rest of the opening 20 minutes to lead 35-27 at the break.
• Neither team shot the ball well in the first half – NU was 10-28 overall (35.7 percent) while going 3-17 from 3-point range (17.6 percent). SVSU finished at 34.3 percent (12-35) and 4-16 from 3-point range (25.0 percent).
• Offensive rebounding was a big part of the Cardinals lead – SVSU held a 9-2 edge in o-boards in the half and a 9-0 advantage in second-chance points.

SECOND HALF

• The teams flipped the script in the second half, as this time is was Saginaw Valley who got off to a fast start. They scored the first seven points of the second half to open up the biggest lead of the day at 42-27.
• Northwood fought back and eventually took a 60-59 lead with 5:36 remaining in the game.
• NU's run in the second half eventually was 17-2, allowing them to go up 66-59 with 2:30 remaining.
• The Cardinals fought back, however, scoring 11 of the final 15 points of regulation to forced overtime at 70-70
• Both teams picked it up offensively in the second half – NU was 17-29 overall (58.2 percent) while SVSU finished at 50.0 percent (15-30).

OVERTIME

• The extra period was a parade to the foul line – the two teams combined for 11 field goal attempts and 17 free throw attempts.
• Northwood did a better job getting to the line in overtime, going 8-12 from the line compared to SVSU at 3-5.
• NU was just 1-5 from the floor in overtime, compared to SVSU at 2-6.

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .408 (29-71), Northwood .452 (28-62)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .261 (6-23, Northwood .179 (5-28)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Saginaw Valley .765 (13-17), Northwood .704 (19-27)
• REBOUNDS: Saginaw Valley 43 (14 offensive), Northwood 37 (Eight offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Saginaw Valley 15/9, Northwood 16/5

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Trey McBride: 23 points (season-high), 11 rebounds (career-high), three steals – first career double-double
• Alec Marty: 19 points
• David Jelinek: 14 points, 5-6 from the floor

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will travel to Wayne State Thursday night (January 17). Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.